The reason this is being considered is because banks refuse to do business with the poor. They do not see any profit in helping them. So if they get paid by check, the must cash their check at one of these businesses and pay the outrageous fees. The typical poor family spends 10% of their annual family budget on financial fees. That is as much as they spend on food in a year. Meanwhile, these predatory lenders are protected by people like Darrel Issa (R-CA) who receives a LOT of money from them to do so.

Exactly. And let us not even get into the factt hat banks keep raising these fees on one side, while upping rewards on the other side to give wealthy people free stuff for being wealthy. So we all get to pay more so rich folk get perks.

The interest rates alone on payday loans can reach up 40% in some areas. Some states have laws in place that cap the interest rates, but the payday loan places go around that by instituting per-day fees on top of the percentage rates. But hey, who cares? Let 'em (stale) cake while we give fat cats huge tax dividends.

I think the point of the payday loan service is to keep folks away from the uncouth practices currently employed. Of course Republicans are up in arms, after they broke the Constitutionally mandated org with ridiculous pension payments, and the areas that cost most to deliver to are publican strongholds, they will now find anyone else to revisionally blame it on. Standard mo.

Post Office isn't actually cash strapped. By act of Congress they had to make huge payments the past few years, to fund their pensiona and health insurance. I think last year was the last one, so with all the lay offs, shut downs, and price increases, they should be flush with cash.

For the FY that ended September 30, 2012, they had a $15 billion dollar loss, triple what they recorded the prior year. I'd be astonished if they miraculously recovered from that in seventeen months, especially given that they haven't even instituted long-overdue service cuts.

Tell it, CC! I have always assumed that these places are predatory lenders. If you watch the very small print on the bottom of the screen for that Blue Sky (some kind of Native American lending scheme) it says the interest can be as high as 113%. I'm not sure how that's even legal, and at the very least it's preying on the needy.

The only reason the USPS is so strapped is because of the ridiculous requirement that the fund pensions 70+ years into the future. It's a ploy to get the USPS privatized, which means someone's pockets would get lined and prices would most certainly go up.

No, the Post Office is not proposing that it start making payday loans. Rather, Elizabeth Warren is proposing that they provide some basic services such as check cashing, small international money transfers, small loans, reloadable prepaid cards, and bill paying.

If this is so, what I wonder about is what will transpire if someone defaults on the loan. The collection methods or repercussions. That would be interesting. I think the Post Office should stay on the horse and deliver the mail.

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